Zarthi is looking for a Compensation & Benefits (C&B;) Lead to design and manage our end-to-end compensation strategy. This role will work closely with Finance and Talent teams to ensure we attract and retain top talent while maintaining strong cost discipline.

You will own how we benchmark, structure, and negotiate compensation, ensuring offers are competitive yet aligned with company budgets and philosophy.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Market Benchmarking & Salary Bands

- Build and maintain compensation benchmarks using publicly available sources, along with other datasets
- Design and implement salary bands (min–mid–max) across roles
- Continuously refine benchmarks to avoid market noise and inflation bias

2. Offer Design & Negotiation

- Lead compensation discussions and negotiations with candidates
- Create negotiation frameworks and guardrails for recruiters
- Escalate and justify exceptions with transparent data-backed rationale

3. Performance & Appraisal Management

- Run company-wide appraisal cycles and calibration discussions
- Ensure internal parity and prevent compensation drift

4. Budgeting & Cost Governance





- Work closely with Finance to align compensation decisions with overall budgets
- Track compensation spend vs plan (offers, increments, promotions)
- Provide insights on cost optimization without impacting talent quality

What We’re Looking For:

Experience

- 3–10 years in Compensation & Benefits / Total Rewards / HR Analytics
- Experience in high-growth startups or dynamic environments preferred

Core Skills

- Strong analytical and financial thinking (comfort with numbers is non-negotiable)
- Proven ability to negotiate compensation effectively

Mindset

- High ownership and strong decision-making ability
- Comfortable saying “no” when required
- Structured thinker who can turn ambiguity into systems
- Ability to work closely with leadership and influence decisions

What Success Looks Like (First 6–9 Months)

- Majority of offers closed within defined frameworks (minimal escalations)
- Smooth and consistent appraisal cycle execution

Reporting Structure

- This role will report to the Head of Finance
- Work closely with Talent Acquisition and Leadership teams

📌 Compensation & Benefits Lead (Karnataka)
🏢 Zarthi
📍 Karnataka